Swan Lake Neighborhood Association

Tulsa World: Fountain Fund

Mar 19, 2008

Link:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070904_1_A1_hArea50508

Swan Lake feature ailing

By ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer
9/4/2007

Area residents begin a fund drive to fix the lake's broken fountain.


Swan Lake is still a dog-walking, bird-watching destination in midtown Tulsa, but one of its historic trademarks -- its stone fountain -- has been in disrepair since 2000.

Neighborhood residents are organizing to do something about that.

The fountain has been a part of Swan Lake since its construction in the 1920s; it was rebuilt in 1938.

Now the fountain has a large crack, weeds are growing though it, and, most importantly, it does not function, said one area resident, Kevin Doyle.

"This is about getting it back to what it was and what it should be," he said.

Doyle, who personally takes care of the lake's resident swans, is the chairman of the Swan Lake Fountain Restoration Project Committee.

Support from the city allowed the park to undergo a restoration project in 1986 and bank stabilization in 2003, he said.

"Growing up in this neighborhood, I can't believe it looks this way now," Doyle said. "Visually, there's been a lot done, but there's still a lot that needs to be done."

Greg Warren,
Tulsa Parks data resource manager, said he has worked on Swan Lake for the past 25 years. The fountain was not repaired earlier because of the cost, and now, "We've realized that the fountain is unrepairable," he said, "so we'll need to pull it out and rebuild it exactly how it was."

A March 2007 estimate put total replacement costs for the fountain at $603,885.36.

Warren said a project to replace the fountain by itself would take six months.

However, the entire proposed project, which would include the fountain, lake water-quality improvements, site enhancements and a maintenance and operations endowment would cost $1.7 million and take up to a year.

While past projects, including the $380,000 stabilization project in 2003, have had funding from city sales taxes, the city would have difficulty matching funds or funding the project solely, Warren said.

"Unfortunately, there aren't any pots of money lying around," Warren said.

Caroline Benediktson, who moved to the Swan Lake area in 2004, said efforts to raise funds have already started.

Utica Square merchants' sales of swan ornaments created by Garden Deva benefit the project, she said.

"People have been very positive," Benediktson said. "The lake is part of the attractiveness of the city. It's something that makes Tulsa special."

While the lake is a residential area, Doyle said the entire community, not just a neighborhood, has an interest in the project.

"This will enhance the ability of the public to use the park," he said. "It's going to take the entire city to complete, because we can't do this alone."

The project also needs volunteers to spread the word, Benediktson said.

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Swan Lake


Late 1800s: Known as Orcutt Lake.
1908: E.J. Brennan renames the area Swan Lake and donates it to the city as a public park.
July 3, 1909: Orcutt Park amusement park opens as ?“Tulsa?’s First Playground.?”
1917: Swan Lake becomes primarily residential.
1920s: Natural stone fountain built.
1938: Fountain rebuilt by Works Progress Administration. City purchases two swans for lake.
1946: Ducks banished from lake for being too noisy but later return.
1986: ?“Lake Breaking?” restoration and renovation project begins.
1987: Swan Lake rededicated with release of wild geese and ducks and activities similar to Orcutt Park?’s.
2003: Bank stabilization project addresses shore erosion problems.

Source: Swan Lake Fountain Restoration and Water Quality Plan